Combination clothesline support and lawn ornament



J y 1950 G. E. NITSCHKE 2,515,661

COMBINATION CLOTHESLINE SUPPORT AND LAWN ORNAMENT Filed March 23, 1946 w1 4 I I F L J 4- Y 4 3 INVENTOR.

E GEORGE E. NITSCHKE BY wPOam ATTORNEY.

Patented July 18, 1950 OFFICE COMBINATION CLOTHESLINE SUPPORT AND LAWNORNAIVIENT 6 George E. Nitschke, Toledo, Ohio Application March 23,1946, Serial No. 656,732

2 Claims.

This invention relates primarily to a clothes line support andparticularly to one which serves a dual purpose by being transformableinto an attractive lawn ornament when not set up for wash day service.

The principal object of my invention is the provision of such astructure which may readily be changed from a clothes line support to alawn ornament.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a device which issimple and sturdy in design and one which may be manufactured easily andat low cost.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a supportingstructure having a main vertical post built in two telescoping sections,the lower or base post being hollow to receive the upper section in itslowered position and the upper section having hinged horizontallyextending arms which swing downwardly along the upper post section sothat they may also be received within the lower post section.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of automaticallyacting latching means for holding the upper post in its upwardlyextended position and such a latch which is effective in any of therotatively variant positions the upper and base post sections may betelescoped together.

Another object is the provision of a hexagon shaped lower or base postsection and an upper post member being H shaped in cross section,whereby the open sides of the member may receive the laterally extendingarms when folded downwardly in their collapsed position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following description with reference to the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a structure embodying my inventionarranged in extended form in pro-per position to support clothes lines.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the same structure in its compact formwherein the upper post memher is telescoped entirely within the lowerbase section except for the ornament holding plate and the ornament atits top, depicted here as a large silvered globe;

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the top end of the upper post memberwith the side arms in their collapsed position;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through both post parts taken on theline 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a horizontal section through the upper post member and thelower ends of the arm struts taken on the line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 66 of Figure 1 throughthe side arm at the point where its supporting strut is pivoted; and

Figure '7 is a side elevation of the top end of the upper post memberwith a sun dial mounted thereon to demonstrate a possible alternatearticle to replace the silvered globe of Figures 1 and 2.

As shown in Figure 1 the base post member I is embedded in concretethrough which it extends slightly into ordinary soil 3. This isconsidered desirable in order that any water reaching the interior ofthe post will not be confined there to rust the metal by the concreteblocking the end.

The base post I is preferably hexagon shaped and is hollow so as toreceive, in sliding but nonturning relation, the upper post section 4 asshown in Figure 4. The post member I may be rectangular or octagonal andstill be adaptable to receive section 4 in several positions if any ofthese shapes are preferred for other reasons. Post section 4 is formedof two U channels welded together back to back. Near its lower end is alatch 5 mounted with its center of gravity on the outer side of thepivot pin 6. In this way the latch 5 is always inclined to falloutwardly to catch over the upper end of base post 4 when the uppersection is raised into its extended position as shown in Figure 1.

At the top of post section 4 is a plate 1 which may be bolted in placethrough the depending portions of the angle members 8 to which it iswelded as shown in Figure 3.

The outer edge of plate 1 extends beyond the periphery of post extension4 so that it will engage the upper end of base post I when these twopost sections are telescoped together. Supported from the top end ofpost extension 4 are arms 9 hinged at It). These carry conventionalhooks II to which clothes line may be fastened, Pivoted at 12 to thearms 9 are struts it, on the lower ends of which are button headed studsI4. These slide into bayonet slots l5 cut into one side of postextension 4 to hold the arms 9 in their horizontal extended position asshown generally in Figure 1 with the detail brought out in Figure 5.

When it appears that the structure will not be needed as a clothes linesupport for a while, the clothes line may be removed and the arms 9swung downwardly by withdrawing struts l3 from the bayonet slots l5.Both the arms and the struts hang within the laterally facing openingsof the H shape of the post extension 4. The arms 9 are U-shaped in crosssection and are of sufficient size to fit snugly at their hinged ends l0between the parallel sides of post extension 4.

The struts I3 are flat straps and are held along one side of the arms 9by bushings IS on the pivot pins I! as may be noted in Figure 6. Bythis, positional interference between the hooks H and the struts I3 isavoided when both are lodged within the confines of the openings of postextension 4.

Post extension 4 is then raised slightly so that latch 5 may be unhookedfrom the edge of base post I and swung inwardly to permit extension 4 todrop within base member I. In order to provide an air cushion to preventupper post 4 from dropping too rapidly down into base post I, fastenedto the bottom of the upper post is a hexagon plate 18 designed toconform to the interior shape of the base post I. The fit should besufliciently close to let the air by at a slow'rate. With the angulararms and struts concealed, and height of the post reduced fifty per centthe structure becomes compact and much more sightly. With an appropriateornament mounted on the top it is an attractive addition to the grounds.As outside clothes line supports are ordinarily used only one day a weekduring pleasant weather and not at all during winter months or when theweather is bad, most of thetime this device maybe left in its ornamentalposition. The part of the yard where it is located may then be usedWithout embarrassment for lawn furniture and game equipment for theentertainment of guests. Instead of being a structure to be screenedwith shrubbery the clothes line support has thus become a decorativefeature of your grounds of which you may be proud.

While one specific embodiment of the inventionis herein shown anddescribed, it will be understood that various changes in the size, shapeand arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combination clothes line support and lawn ornament a stationaryhollow post of polygonal cross section, an extension membernonrotatively and telescopically mounted within the post, laterallyraisable arms pivotally mounted near the top of the extension member,supporting means for holding the arms in their lateral position, meanson the outer ends of the arms to which clothes lines may be fastened,and overhanging plate means on the top of the extension member forkeeping the member from dropping below the top end of the post and alsofor providing a support for a decorative article.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the extension member isH-shaped in horizontal cross section and the ends of the legs of the Hfit into corners between the sides of the polygonal post.

GEORGE E. NITSCHKE.

REFERENCES CITED The. following references are of record in the file of.this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 261,908 Chorman Aug. 1, 1882345,741 Thurston July 20, 1886 667,562 Norton Feb. 5, 1901 724,582 JonesApr. 7, 1903 919,405 Walden Apr. 27, 1907 1,042,262 Pelletier Oct. 22,1912 1,423,762 Franzen July 25, 1922 1,714,693 Stoll May 23, 19291,894,176 Hirsch Jan. 10, 1933 2,123,329 Combs et a1. July 12, 1938FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 800,085 France Apr. 30, 1936

